Shield (PAYDAY: The Heist)
The Shield is a special unit whose role is supporting other law enforcement and dealing out suppressing fire. He wears a set of medium armor and a ballistic face mask like the Taser. He is armed with a fully-automatic B9-S pistol and carries a large riot shield, making him invulnerable to bullets from the front. The Shield has a base health of 10, up to 20 health on Overkill 145+, and a base headshot multiplier of 1.5. Behavior By itself, the Shield deals very little damage, and is the weakest special unit in terms of health. However, when coupled with other units, his defense, accuracy, and fire rate make him effective at suppressing the player's armor recharge so that other enemies can inflict damage. He is especially dangerous in choke points, where flanking is difficult. The Shield is deceptively agile, and can actually close the distance between players quite quickly. The Shield shifts between focusing on one particular player, allowing for a potential opening if the Shield suddenly turns to block, and shoot another player within sight. Shields are often one of the first special units to engage players attempting to defend a particular area. When a Shield has focused on a particular target, it will slowly advance to a defensive position where it can then fire upon players, and force them into cover, while simultaneously allowing other law enforcement units cover, and the opportunity to push forward. Because Shields are almost constantly attempting to breach a defended area, or choke point, they can rarely obstruct the recovery of a teammate, as their movement can sometimes push away a downed teammate by simply moving forward to assault other players, something the Bulldozer is also capable of. Aside from being typically the front line of an assault, Shields can be spawned by certain objectives during heists, where they will arrive to cut off a location that the crew must reach; for example, in Panic Room, Shields will often cover floors 2 and 3 during the escape, and in Counterfeit, Shields will often defend the sewer hatch during the escape. Like all special enemies, the Shield cannot be taken hostage. Strategy The Shield can be difficult to defeat alone, as he always tries to point his shield at one player – typically the one shooting at him the most. Additionally, when the Shield is moving, it becomes nearly impossible to flank him without the assistance of another player. This is due to the fact that while moving, a Shield's turning speed is much faster, and the Shield's focus on an individual player will almost never fade unless there is another player to focus on. However, when the Shield has come to halt, and stops moving, turning speed is reduced, and a lone player is able to move in close, and circle strafe a Shield before it can face you, allowing for an easy kill. In an enclosed area, where the Shield is obstructing a doorway or other entrance to an area, strafing around a Shield is not feasible due to the limited space available. Players can opt to jump on top of the Shield, and attempt to flank, or simply pass through, however, jumping on top of the Shield can sometimes 'catch' onto the player, and prevent the player from moving. A Shield officer with a heister on top of him will not be able to move, however, and he will always point his shield upwards towards the one standing above him, which leaves him wide open to shots. With other players, a lone Shield in the open is less of a threat, as it will constantly shift its focus between players, allowing for another to take a shot when it has turned away. Though headshots deal more damage, players are advised to use any opening against a Shield so the opportunity isn't wasted. Shields can be even more easily killed with a single grenade from the GL40 (directly on the Shield if possible). If you are playing with one or more others you can have one person get the shield to look at them you can sneak around and get him from the back. When doing this remember that you can still get shot so try to get behind cover. A Shield will quicky empty a sentry gun's ammo, having it firing at his shield, unless a player distracts him or kills him from behind. Trivia * With the new enemy AI tactics added in Patch 6, other law enforcers are more likely to use the Shield as cover. This can be especially problematic if a Taser shocks you from behind a Shield, as you will not be able to interrupt his attack yourself. * Tasers are basically black-and-yellow-textured Shields armed with AMCAR-4 rifles and their eponymous tasers. * The Shield's only weapon is the B9-S, though it is fully automatic and seems to have the properties of the STRYK pistol. * When the officer is taken down, the Shield itself sometimes stays upright for about a minute, and can be used as temporary cover for both sides. Note that player and law enforcers can still walk right through it without being blocked. * Unlike other special units, Bain does NOT inform you about the Shield. But occasionally, even if no-one calls out the Shield, the game will make a certain character call out something like "Oh shit! Shield!" when the Shield is in camera view. Bugs * Shields, when colliding with players, can rarely push players into the solid geometry of a level. Players can become stuck in walls, fall into the 'abyss' of a level, or even in rooms that are normally inaccessible. This can also occur if the player jumps on top of a Shield and becomes 'stuck' on top. * Shields are often able to shoot through walls, or other solid cover at players. This can occur even when the Shield is not within view, leading to potentially dangerous situations where the player cannot retaliate, and may have to abandon their cover and relocate to a position where the Shield's bullets cannot pierce. Category:Special enemies Category:PAYDAY 1